Extension of temporary ban on all international flights to Thailand until 30 June 2020

[tribalfusion001]

7 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Thank goodness i am home ,here in Thailand ,cant imagine how boreing it must be back in the UK ,with the police jumping on you if you go near anyone else ,cant walk about only allowing a few into the supermarket ,and hardly anyone wearing a mask .

lucky i live here ,and as for being stuck with my wife ,lucky me .????

I've seen one policeman walking around the high street since I arrived back on 25th March, supermarkets queues were only for the first couple of weeks or going to the shops in the morning, don't need a mask as the covid-19 rates are minimal in my town and county.

 

No QR codes to get in a mall, beaches are open, was no booze bans, but your right it is boring 555

[Mikeasq60]

Whats the reason for extending the travel ban. Its not based on science because the numbers are going down or flattening. And Thailand is opening malls and restaurants. Thais economy is finished. I feel terrible for my wife's area of Thailand.

[PeeJayEm]

Interesting work from Maine uni published by scientific groups shows strong correlation between country temperatures in 5-11C range and infectivity rate (R). Even correlated temp/R gradient from south to north of Italy.

Could explain why so many countries in SE Asia have fared to much better that Europe and US. Thailand’s extremely low infection and death rates are astonishing - seems this correlation may have been a major factor in addition to Thailand being  far better organised at local community levels than Western countries.

Any western country would be opening up their full economies if they had such low R figures as Thailand and it must be hugely tempting - so the govt should be commended for continuing to hold back - so long as the micro economy can handle it.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by PeeJayEm
Posted in wrong place

[Paul2121]

21 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

Its going to be like this for a LONG time. There are still thousands of Thailands own countrymen stranded globally that the toads at the helm of government wont even allow back at any reasonable rate, so why would they all of a sudden allow international travelers. 

But no one is booking flights back until they know for shore what are the restrictions that will be placed on arrival? We can all think we know but where is it from the government 

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Several off topic, bickering, baiting and etc posts have been removed. This is a serious topic so there is no room for nonsense in it.

No further notice will be given when posts are removed.

Just a reminder since the topic is going way off topic.

[Yorkshire Tea]

5 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

I can't explain it either, and I suspect the actual numbers are worse than reported, but they still seem to be largely spared the brunt of it for some reason that we will only really know alot later in the future. 

Maybe it's because, generally, only healthy people survive to live to old age here?  Look at Europe & US.  Loads of elderly folk, at death's door, but kept alive.  They're the ones mostly dying due to the virus.   But then in south america, seems to be more normal people dying.  Guess ethnicity has a role.

[balo]

What about Cambodia and Vietnam, any flights allowed? 

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

And that is why they've extended the flight ban. As long as they believe that quarantine is needed then no-one would come anyway. So no point in allowing flights.

Not only that - I read somewhere on TV that the government were considering letting Thai's travel internationally from 1 July. How would that work? There may be some regional flights but the government doesn't hold all the keys to travel.  I can't see airlines being prepared to operate if the direction of travel is only one way. Of course Thai's would have to return at some point but the airlines would find it very difficult to fill their aircraft.

[paulikens]

2 hours ago, drbeach said:

And Thailand is better how? You can't go into a supermarket without a mask or temperature check and malls are now using a tracking app (some supermarkets too). If you don't have the app = no entry (or you need to fill out a paper form). Totally intrusive.

 

Temperature checks performed on ALL Phuket residents at their home last month and police most certainly enforce social distancing in Thailand. I'd much rather be in the UK right now.

how is thailand better?... well by about 38000 less deaths

Edited May 17, 2020 by paulikens

[Ron jeremy]

3 hours ago, katatonic said:

I have no idea why. I for one am perfectly happy here and grateful I'm not in the UK. My house is in the midst of nature, peaceful with a fabulous sea-view, going to work every day (since lockdown ended) and way less traffic than normal. I miss going out a bit but my wife's a trained chef and we stopped going to expat beer bars several years ago. 

I don't live in the UK , thank god, all the whining seems to come from people living in the UK. Things in Canada are great. And yes , I speak daily with people stuck in Asia, none are happy. These are people visiting, not living there. I too have sea view, fresh air, and no lockdown.but I can enjoy the sea, not just look at it.not stuck in my house either, I can enjoy the fresh air. I can go outside, no people lined up for food here. I haven been stuck in a room for over a month.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Ron jeremy

[natway09]

Unless you hail from NZ or OZ which are islands which helped them manage this debacle very well

suggest a few more positive comments forthcoming as your countries have handled it terribly compared to Thailand who somehow have managed to stop what could have been a disaster sharing many borders

in particular Laos & Myanmar who also share borders with China. (case in point infected Thais returning from Malaysia).

I applaud the Government on this one, putting Thai health over the almighty $.

I just hope they are not just delaying the inevitable

[Burma Bill]

I do not know if I am missing something here, but I have just checked arrivals at BKK for today (17 May 2020) and this is what I discovered for the time period 12:00 to 18:00: - yes I know there are domestic and cargo flights but look down the list there are international arrivals, possibly repatriation flights??

 

2020-05-17 Today

 00:00 - 06:00 06:00 - 12:00 12:00 - 18:00 18:00 - 24:00 

Search:

 

 Filter by airline All airlines 9 Air Co Aeroflot Air Astana Air Canada Air China Air France Air Macau Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways - ANA American Airlines Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines Bangkok Airways Bhutan Airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines British Airways Cathay Pacific China Airlines China Eastern Airlines China Southern Airlines Condor Delta Air Lines Drukair Eastar Jet Ethiopian Airlines EVA Air Fiji Airways Finnair Garuda Indonesia GoAir Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines Hong Kong Airlines JAL - Japan Airlines Jeju Air Jetstar Asia Juneyao Air KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Korean Air Kunming Airlines Lufthansa Mahan Air Malaysia Airlines Myanmar Airways International Oman Air Qantas Qatar Airways Royal Brunei Airlines S7 Airlines SAS Scandinavian Airlines Sichuan Airlines Singapore Airlines Spring Airlines SriLankan Airlines SWISS Thai Airways International Thai Smile Thai Vietjet Air Turkish Airlines Ukraine International Airlines Vietnam Airlines Virgin Australia Vistara 

Origin

Arrival

Flight

Airline

Status

Koh Samui (USM)

12:00

PG120BR3972TG5943QR4315

Bangkok AirwaysEVA AirThai Airways InternationalQatar Airways

Landed - On-time [+]

Zhengzhou (CGO)

12:15

HT3817

Tianjin Air Cargo

Scheduled [+]

Luang Prabang (LPQ)

12:55

WE577

Thai Smile

Scheduled [+]

Hong Kong (HKG)

13:00

MS5082

EgyptAir

Scheduled [+]

Delhi (DEL)

13:05

G837

GoAir

Scheduled [+]

Chiang Mai (CNX)

13:15

VZ103

Thai Vietjet Air

Landed - On-time [+]

Phuket (HKT)

13:55

WE282

Thai Smile

Scheduled [+]

Hong Kong (HKG)

14:45

RH331

Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier

Scheduled [+]

Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)

14:50

AF253

Air France

Landed - On-time [+]

Dhaka (DAC)

15:00

BG88

Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Scheduled [+]

London (LHR)

15:00

TG917

Thai Airways International

Landed - On-time [+]

Tokyo (HND)

15:30

NH847

ANA

Landed - On-time [+]

Tokyo (HND)

15:40

JL31

JAL

Canceled [+]

Paro (PBH)

15:50

KB150

Drukair

Scheduled [+]

Paro (PBH)

15:50

KB152

Drukair

Scheduled [+]

Koh Samui (USM)

16:10

PG136BR3898MH4916TK4418TG5921QR4312QF3497CI9724

Bangkok AirwaysEVA AirMalaysia AirlinesTurkish AirlinesThai Airways InternationalQatar AirwaysQantasChina Airlines

Landed - On-time [+]

Singapore (SIN)

16:15

CK288SQ7564

China Cargo

Singapore Airlines

Landed [+]

Taipei (TPE)

16:20

CI835PG4902

China AirlinesBangkok Airways

Canceled [+]

Hong Kong (HKG)

16:30

CX751PG4558

Cathay PacificBangkok Airways

Landed [+]

Tokyo (NRT)

16:30

TG643

Thai Airways International

Landed - On-time [+]

Phuket (HKT)

16:55

VZ2301

Thai Vietjet Air

Scheduled [+]

Chiang Rai (CEI)

17:15

VZ133

Thai Vietjet Air

Landed [+]

Hat Yai (HDY)

17:40

WE266

Thai Smile

[Axios226]

15 hours ago, somtumwrong said:

I'm asking this for the second time now just because I'm a little worried (asked a month ago already once), but is there any limitation to Thai citizens (read: Thai wife + kids) to fly out of Thailand? Arranging flight tickets for my family tomorrow, and @ubonjoe you already told me a month ago that no such limitation exists back then. Any new information on this subject?

 

 

Thailand isn't stopping anyone from leaving, the issue relies on an airline providing said transportation. I booked with Qatar back in late Feb. before the lockdown and everything. Original fly out date was May 31st, well now we are set for June 3rd after FIVE rebookings. I only see the airlines reason for cancelling a flight would be if there weren't enough passengers booked making it not worth their time to fly here with no one on board coming in and only 30 people going out. 16 days until our latest flight, fingers crossed we can go home!!! 

[Pattaya46]

5 minutes ago, Axios226 said:

I only see the airlines reason for cancelling a flight would be if there weren't enough passengers booked making it not worth their time to fly here with no one on board coming in and only 30 people going out. //

Other obvious reason is when the plane can't land in BKK!...

or when passengers can't disembark... because of actual ban.

[Axios226]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Other obvious reason is when the plane can't land in BKK!...

or when passengers can't disembark... because of actual ban.

Im saying that people can leave as long as an airline has a plane coming in with no passengers which some do. A lot are being cancelled because there aren't enough people leaving Thailand for the airline to justify sending an empty plane to Thailand.

[paulikens]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

I appreciate your frustration, but try to understand what could have happened. Statistics from the few countries with reliable data on Covid-19 suggest a death rate of around 2% (assuming good medical attention is available for those who become seriously ill). If 70% of the Thai population was allowed to contract the virus, that means nearly 50 million infected. Around a million would die assuming the ability to hospitalise and properly treat the 5 million who became seriously ill. With a totally overwhelmed health system, the death toll would probably be double that (based on experiences from coronavirus hotspots where hospitals have been unable to cope).

 

To date, the best results have come from countries that have gone early and gone hard to contain the virus. Examples are Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. If you wait until you can see you should have acted earlier, then you have acted too late.

you dont seem to have factored in the percentage that are immune to it,which i believe is 80% so the 1mill you claim would have died is nonsense

[paulikens]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

And that is why they've extended the flight ban. As long as they believe that quarantine is needed then no-one would come anyway. So no point in allowing flights.

and theres lots of people who come for a lot longer than a couple of weeks,i for one would have been happy to quarantine for 2 wks,so i dont think that was the reason

[jaideecm]

Laos opens tomorrow for everything. I see School teachers getting the schools ready today. Having a good time in Savannakhet. Next week on to Pakse.

[ubonjoe]

48 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

I do not know if I am missing something here, but I have just checked arrivals at BKK for today (17 May 2020) and this is what I discovered for the time period 12:00 to 18:00: - yes I know there are domestic and cargo flights but look down the list there are international arrivals, possibly repatriation flights??

There is at least one repatriation flight on the list. That would be the only flight that had passengers that was allowed to get off the plane.

Others are flights transiting through that picked up outgoing passengers. No passengers disembarked from the flight.

 

[ubonjoe]

34 minutes ago, jaideecm said:

Laos opens tomorrow for everything. I see School teachers getting the schools ready today. Having a good time in Savannakhet. Next week on to Pakse.

But the border crossing are still closed and no passenger flights into the country are allowed.

[crobe]

2 hours ago, PeeJayEm said:

Interesting work from Maine uni published by scientific groups shows strong correlation between country temperatures in 5-11C range and infectivity rate (R). Even correlated temp/R gradient from south to north of Italy.

Could explain why so many countries in SE Asia have fared to much better that Europe and US. Thailand’s extremely low infection and death rates are astonishing - seems this correlation may have been a major factor in addition to Thailand being  far better organised at local community levels than Western countries.

Any western country would be opening up their full economies if they had such low R figures as Thailand and it must be hugely tempting - so the govt should be commended for continuing to hold back - so long as the micro economy can handle it.

 

 

A couple of months ago when this all flared up I thought about the ambient temperatures and checked back on the temperatures in Wuhan, Daegu (S. Korea) and northern Italy at the times when their infection rates spiked

All were around 14 degrees celcius at the time - now this could just be a coincidence or it could be that there is a sweet spot in the temperature range for the virus to be at its moist contagious

More data crunching when people analyse this later will tell.

Edited May 17, 2020 by crobe

[Why Me]

52 minutes ago, paulikens said:

you dont seem to have factored in the percentage that are immune to it,which i believe is 80% so the 1mill you claim would have died is nonsense

80% of the population is immune to C-19? Which orifice did you pull this from?

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, Why Me said:

80% of the population is immune to C-19? Which orifice did you pull this from?

Suspect it may be in reference to most people not needing hospital treatment rather than being immune.  We don't know of anyone immune other than perhaps those that have had it in the last six months.

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

22 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

IMO means zip. Book a flight. Then when it's cancelled obtain your credit towards future flight. 

As much as folk can complain about  AirAsia. I had 2 cancelled flights April and May. They allowed free change to September and Oct. Have flight June 12. Zero chance of that happening.

I have credits from Saigon to Melb. Just looked at Jan/feb 2021. Price DOUBLE.

Thats why when the airline cancels I file a chargeback with my credit card issuer if they refuse a full refund.  Last year Air Asia cancelled one of my flights and offered a refund.  After waiting 3 weeks I filed a chargeback and won.  I've won 2 recent Covid related chargebacks and expect a third to be successful soon.  

 

A few other flights I cancelled so I was obligated to take vouchers and it won't surprise me if they end up being useless depending on how much the fare increases like the double price increase you found.  Or if the airlines go out of business.

[Burma Bill]

34 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

But the border crossing are still closed and no passenger flights into the country are allowed.

Yes indeed Laos, and as here in Cambodia life continues as near normal but schools still closed. Many local bars, pubs, restaurants, shops and supermarkets still open. Freedom of movement. No lock-downs or curfews. No alcohol ban. To be honest, I am glad the borders are still closed to avoid a rush of ex-pats and tourists from COVID + Thailand trying to leave LOS for good or for visa purposes potentially bringing the virus here!

[EricTh]

19 hours ago, drbeach said:

I agree, although now might be the time to reduce the over reliance the Thai economy has on tourism. To my surprise, I recently saw a post comparing how much more Thailand is dependent on tourism than Vietnam and Cambodia. I feel the figures used weren't accurate, as I can imagine both countries being more reliant on tourism that those figures suggest. The figures were 21.6%, 6.7 and 6.9% for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, respectively. I've seen figures for Vietnam up to 15% and similar for Cambodia; after all, what else does Cambodia produce? Not much except for garments. In any case, a definite wake up call for all countries - tourism may never be the same again. Find something else to make money - manufacturing, agriculture and food processing come to mind.

 

Those figures are correct. Thailand relies a lot on tourism, guess who are their largest tourists?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand#Top_25_arrivals_by_nationality

 

 

 

 

[Russel]

5 hours ago, new2here said:

 

 

 It's also my opinion that any foreigner will still be required to have a COVID test (within 72hrs) and US$100K health insurance.. 

 

 

I'd say it's a great way to permanently kill the tourism in the country since these requirements are almost impossible to get

[tomauasia]

On 5/16/2020 at 9:11 PM, tribalfusion001 said:

You can be positive or negative, but realistically nothing much is going to change for another 2 or 3 months, maybe more.

Not longer than 3 months no chance

[ThailandRyan]

At this point in time anything one may believe is just purely speculatory and we have no clue as to what will transpire.  All we can do unfortunately is sit back and take a chill pill...

 

[phantomfiddler]

Can anyone explain the logic behind putting close to half this country out of work and causing untold hardship, possibly even bankrupting the country and causing numerous suicides, all because since the beginning of the year there have been a number of suspected virus deaths equating to less than half a person per day ? Fifty one people as against approximately 8,000 dying in road accidents over the same period, it just doesn,t make sense to me ????